Friend of mine launched her business not too long ago, and is doing quite well during her inaugural month. Love seeing her gloat on Facebook about all the new business. We’re not close friends, but she’s worked for us in the past, so I reached out to congratulate her.

“Congratulations on the big success, Jane! Your marketing seems to be doing fantastic” I said, secretly hoping she’d thank me for teaching her one or two things about online marketing. Yeah, Mr. Honesty here. “Well, thank you Leo, but I’m not doing any marketing at all!” That was worrisome. What do you mean, no marketing? No ads, no billboards, no AdWords, no nothing? I was desperate to understand. Eventually, she told me, “Two of our local articles wrote very positive pieces about our grand opening, and my family has been telling everybody to stop by”.

Okay, that was not so bad. Press coverage, specially positive, is very healthy. Then I asked- “So, how’s traffic to your site? Are you building a client list for email marketing?” I barely lost my jaw when she replied “We never finished our site, the guy disappeared and we didnt feel like chasing him”. Ugh. And to think she had worked for me!

I was very disappointed. Before I logged out, I wanted to extend a hand – “Well Jane, dont you think you should have your site up during the opening, generating leads for you?” and then she said something that hurt just like a punch in the face – “Oh, I dont need it right now. Got more leads than I can handle”.

Ok, Bye, Jane!

Why Market When Things Are Going Well?

Because you want things to continue to be going well. I thought this was obvious, but looking back at some of our most delicate clients, I recognize a large majority of them approached us during a downturn on their businesses. They demanded results yesterday, expecting us to use the magic Google wand and send tons of business their way. Whether we can do that is besides the point – we’ve seen successful Google AdWords campaigns resuscitate businesses within a few weeks.

But having your back against the wall is bad in any situation. And that’s what marketing I call “remedy marketing” – campaigns aimed at fixing something that broke a while back (business doesnt just suddenly disappear). Remedy marketing has it’s place, after all, we get sick sometimes. But if after you finish your round of cough syrup you decide to take a walk in the snow wearing your speedos, dont expect to stay healthy for too long.

Doctor Visits Vs Vitamins

A visit to your doctor will run at least $80, if you dont need any exams. A bottle of vitamins wont cost you more than $30. The same applies for online marketing.

When you want extreme dedication to your project in order to generate results ASAP, expect to pay extra for those extra hours. It’s something we recommend clients avoid at all costs, since it doesnt always generate better results.

Sharpen Your Marketing During Good Times

If things are going well, use your marketing budget to venture into new keywords, new markets. Strengthen your SEO for eCommerce Use it to increase your social presence, by running like-fueled Facebook ads campaigns, or by allocating resources to your new Google+ Business Page.

The idea is to prevent bad times from happening. But even when they do, with a solid web presence, you’re able to quickly identify your biggest money makers using Analytics, reach your customers via email marketing, and engage your current fans/followers in a contest to drum up new business. Things become more flexible when you understand your traffic, you have a strong voice in social media, and a responsive email list.

And really – is there anything else one can do to prevent bad times? Focusing on things you can control – SEO, PPC, Social Media – you can better shield yourself from almost anything Wall Street, Washing, FBI, IMF, or the GOP throw your way. Dont you think?